The Odd Couple Centennial Collection 2-Disc DVD Review

Posted by Erik Luers on 03.25.2009

"If it's a Paramount Picture, it's the best show in town!"

The Odd Couple Centennial Collection

Recently, Paramount's home video division had created a new series entitled "The Centennial Collection", a specialty banner in which they would release new two disc editions of their very best and illustrious films. Coming out with two new additions every few months, Paramount hoped to rival the very best video companies (Criterion, Kino, Masters of Cinema) in technical advancement and worthwhile extras. Here's hoping the time is right for them to finally release Wings and The African Queen on DVD as well.


The Film

The Odd Couple is considered by many to be one of the funniest motion pictures ever made. Produced in 1968 by Paramount, the film was instantly a financial and critical success for its studio, director, cast, and brilliant screenwriter/playwright, Neil Simon. Mr. Simon had magnificently adapted his Broadway hit for the cinema and director Gene Saks (having previously made Simon's Barefoot in the Park a year earlier) was able to provide a smooth transition from the stage to the screen. The film is small in its presentation but immensely large in its intelligence and wit. The film works because Saks respects Simon's written word and, instead of obliterating it, nicely uses the script to get great performances out of his two game leads, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. They are a perfect fit for the snappy Simon universe, a 1960s New York City (could you imagine how great either one of them would have been in Come Blow Your Horn or The Star-Spangled Girl?). Nowadays, it's rare for actors to give performances this good but they certainly did and they are.

Thanks to the film's now iconic status (it was ranked number seventeen on AFI's top one hundred American comedies) and a popular television series based on the material, the plot now seems more familiar (and comforting) than most. Neurotic Felix Ungar is kicked out of his apartment by his wife in the midst of a messy breakup. Down on his luck, he tries to take his life in numerous hysterical ways (as far as suicide attempts go) to no avail. Eventually, he winds up at his good poker buddy, Oscar's, apartment where he is invited to to move in. The two roomates' personalities are so different, however, that they soon drive each other insane. It's the kind of simple, uncomplicated comedic setup that Simon thrives at. The two bachelors argue back and forth over the cleanliness of the apartment (Felix is a neat freak, Oscar is a slob), and the film really takes off from there. So few films feature arguments over the classification of spaghetti (or linguine), and The Odd Couple shows that comedy can emerge from our uneventful, run of the mill, everyday activities.

The film works precisely because of its simplicity, I think, and grows funnier with each escalating scene because of its characters' natural proceedings. Simon doesn't force the comedic banter as much as he enables it, setting up the pieces and letting them collide into one another. When Oscar's poker buddies have drinks without coasters, Felix can't stand it. When someone secretly shuts off Felix's humidifier, Felix throws a fit. He is so uptight and motherly that the men can't stand to be around him. They come over to Oscar's place to escape their wives, not to put up with a new one! Opposites can only attract for so long.

How could Oscar and Felix possibly be friends, I asked myself throughout the film. While they are completely opposing people, we somehow buy it, hook, line, and sinker. Well, of course we do. We all have good friends that are different than us, unique in their own individual ways. If we were all one hundred percent alike, we wouldn't even be friends; we'd be genetic clones. Oscar and Felix may not be the same type of person but they compliment each other nicely, and isn't that what friendship is all about? Felix is the parent and Oscar is the child. Oscar is laid back and Felix is uptight. In a way, The Odd Couple is Neil Simon's way of showing us how normal we all are and Matthau and Lemon understand and convey this in every scene. We believe in this friendship because we see ourselves in them. Perhaps Lemmon and Matthau did too.

It can prove quite difficult directing a film version of a stage play as directors have to constantly worry about "opening up" the story for astute, quickly bored filmgoers. After all, plays are about the words while film is undeniably a visual medium. Saks is nicely able to make The Odd Couple (the film) become its own entity. The characters are seen at a restaurant, Shea Stadium, Central Park, supermarket, and more, and the shifts in location appear organic and fluid. Occasionally, films adapted from stage plays can appear desperate in trying to jazz up the drawn out, one setting interiors it so often finds itself in. Saks is more skilled than that (he would go on to direct two more film adaptations of Simon's work, Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Brighton Beach Memoirs), and it is partially to his credit that The Odd Couple runs so smoothly. A film director's presence can sadly be lost in a play adaptation, but Saks is no such slouch. He doesn't let the screenplay do all the work for him; he uses it as a helpful guideline. One funny exterior shot involves Murray arriving at Oscar's apartment in his friend's cop car with the sirens blaring. I suppose he was late for that night's poker game.

At the end of the day, The Odd Couple is a splendid showcase for two professional actors engaging in an exciting verbal tennis match. One serves and the other eloquently hits back. After a while you're bound to get love. The screenplay is elevated by the men and women in this cast and the underrated metteur en scene behind the camera; everything comes together magically. It's a great New York film, a first rate comedy, and one of Paramount's finest productions of the 1960s. Oh, and before I forget...."we're all out of cornflakes. F.U." The Odd Couple is one special film.

Film: 9.0


Technical Aspects

Video quality: For a film made forty-one years ago, the image is crisp and bright. Eighty percent of the film's scenes take place indoors and this transfer nicely compliments the homely setting. There is hardly any grain present and there are no annoying halos. Presented in its original Panavision widescreen ratio, The Odd Couple looks vibrant and nicely (and professionally) digitally restored.


Audio quality: The now clear audio track has been nicely cleaned up for this special release. The dialogue is no longer muffled nor indistinguishable and the classic Neal Hefti score has more pop in it now than ever before. Besides the fact that it was probably recorded in mono, this track sounds but a day old and is really well done and effortless.

Technical Aspects: 9.0


Special Features

Feature Length Audio Commentary by Charlie Matthau and Chris Lemmon (1:45:20): Charlie Matthau and Chris Lemmon, the sons of the actors in the film, give a group commentary (the men were not recorded separately) and are very funny and whimsical people. Charlie Matthau is now an accomplished director (he directed his father and Jack Lemmon in The Grass Harp ) and he mentions that the studio had originally wanted Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra for the roles of Oscar and Felix. Both sons seem to have a good friendship in real life just as their fathers had before them. Although a little gushy and repetitive at times, this is a nice commentary track.

In the Beginning.....(17:02): This feature focuses specifically on the original Broadway success of Neil Simon's stage play. Produced in 1965, the play was directed by a young Mike Nichols and starred Walter Matthau (as Oscar) and Art Carney (as Felix). The play won four Tony Awards and ran for an impressive 966 performances. Neil Simon became a household name practically over night.

Inside The Odd Couple (19:05): Legendary producer Robert Evans, actress Carole Shelley (she plays Gwendolyn Pigeon), and Brad Garret (he played Murray the cop in a Broadway revival of the play a few years back) discuss their favorite scenes. Shelley talks about the rigorous audition process for her role, and Evans discusses how Matthau and Lemmon were chosen for the leads. Originally, the two actors had wanted Billy Wilder to direct (both were in The Fortune Cookie) but things unfortunately fell through. Gene Saks mentions that he was happy to work on the film (and yes, he was an able replacement).

Memories From the Set (10:23): Director Gene Saks and actor David Sheiner (he played Roy in the film) reminisce about their fond experiences working on The Odd Couple. One interesting thing of note is how Matthau had severely hurt his left arm before filming and had to do many scenes with an injured arm (his arm was bandaged up in between takes). When you watch the first half of the film (the portion that he shot with the injury) you hardly even notice.

Matthau and Lemmon (10:34): A sad yet touching "talking heads" segment about the friendship that the two lead actors shared. The actors' sons express how much their fathers loved working with one another and how it comes across on screen. In total, the two actors made ten films together and The Odd Couple was one of their best. It's a very moving segment.

The Odd Couple: A Classic (3:01): At three minutes, this segment is pure fluff. Various entertainment figures (with Larry King the big one) give their thoughts on the now iconic film. If only this would have been given more time to go further in depth.....

Photo Galleries: Black and white photographs that are fun to view in a "fly on the wall" sort of way. Look for appearances by Neil Simon and the film's producer, Harry W. Koch.

Theatrical Trailer (2:46): The original theatrical trailer that played in theaters is provided here. It isn't digitally cleaned up for this release but at least Paramount decided to include it on the disc. I'm glad they did.

There is also a four page booklet included that has some nice photos from the film, quotes from the film, and a brief history of its production.

Extras: 8.0

Film: 7.0
Technical Aspects: 9.0
Extras: 9.0

The 411: The Odd Couple is really the kind of film that they just don't make anymore. Smart, witty, expertly performed and aptly directed, this 1968 release is one of the best comedies to emerge from the decade. There has never been a better film representing Neil Simon's excellent work. The video and audio for this release is very well done and the extras are poignant and significant (I just wish there was a little bit more). This is a very fine release from Paramount's newly established Centennial Collection.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]